Tag Archives: microwave

Storks are in abundance in Spain. We see stork nests everywhere during the spring months.

The pair of parents take turns watching the nest as one of the two flies away to get food for their little ones.

This particular nest caught my eye as I tried to make out what was that black item on the left side of the nest. As I used my zoom on my camera I finally figured out what is what – a little black lace bra – a Stork nest bra!

I made a mental note NOT to hang my clothes out during stork season!

There are so many statues in Spain, especially concentrated in some of the churches and cathedrals. I don’t recall exactly where I took this picture (I’m thinking it’s in O’Cebreiro) and what I like about this particular statue was the stance of the person it portrayed.

The artist even added a real sword. I liked that this was a unique pose rather than the traditional standing pose we often see.

I call this picture “stairway to heaven”. From my vantage point this is what it looked to be – a staircase leading to the skies.

There are many old abandoned buildings in Spain. I recall walking through seemingly ghost town-like hamlets and small villages where no one could be found. I imagine at some point in time, all these hamlets were filled with laughter, joy and lots of residents.

simple pleasures

Simple pleasures were easy to find on the Camino. Things that usually wouldn’t really mean much to me became treasures of the day while on the Camino.

Good local delicious cheese, uniquely flavoured chocolate (this one was flavoured with olive oil!) and good reading material made for a wonderful treat.

Oh, how simple life became on the Camino – perhaps simple items, but always an enriching experience.

signs

What an absolute joy I would have when seeing any such signs indicating I was approaching a village, hamlet or town.

At times I would walk 8, 10,12 kilometers with no indication of nearby civilization; then, my eyes would rest on a while sign in the distance, and I knew I was getting close to a cafe or an albergue.

Stained Glass Shells

My husband Steve and I created stained glass works for many years. I’ve always been intrigued by this art, and I chanced upon this particular piece as part of a frontage of a house.

These shells are actually painted on the glass, alike most of the faces of church and cathedral stained glass windows. This is such a nice Camino-themed piece!

Symbols of the Camino

When one thinks of the Camino, many symbols come to mind that represent it. The shell is likely one of the most common one (along with the yellow arrows).

This little shop displayed various Camino related items. I’ve seen this particular shop photographed many times by pilgrims and tourists alike.

Cheers from my virtual Camino tour!

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There is something so peaceful about a long and winding road (Cue the Beatles song). I never saw these roads as huge undertaking but as a quiet opportunity to think. Of course this would be a different story if this was after walking 6 hours already!

I admit I preferred the paths that were further away from the paved road. Being in deep thought and suddenly hearing cars go by doesn’t render itself to peaceful thinking. Nonetheless, when we are walking 300-500-800 km, we take all types of roads.

It’s all part of the journey.

Labyrinth?

I call this one Labyrinth but I’m not sure it truly is one, or one of those meditation circles.There are quite a few on the Camino, and this one seemed so perfectly placed in a wonderful location, mid point between two small villages.

And if you wonder whether I walked it all, I can tell you I certainly did. It’s made of stones perfectly placed and well maintained.

Lovely!

I thought this art was so lovely. This is found in the city of Vitoria, where painted walls can be found everywhere.

I was so impressed with the beautiful paintings often covering entire buildings.

I could actually create a slide show consisting entirely of Vitoria wall art and it would be amazing! This city was one of my favorite finds of my 2013 Camino.

Laves of pink

At first sight, I thought these were beautiful pink flowers, and it wasn’t until I looked closer that I realized they weren’t flowers, but leaves! Pink leaves!

I have no idea what type of tree this was, and I was taken by the beauty of it.

Thanks for joining me on my virtual Camino tour!

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Today’s post is more of a cautionary tale, and if one person gains knowledge from this, I will be happy.

It seemed easy enough; put two eggs in a bowl, cover the eggs with water and set the microwave. My daughter often made hard boiled eggs this way, and it seemed to be a viable option. I must admit I had never done this as I wondered about the risk of exploding eggs.

Once the timer went off I removed the bowl from the microwave. The water was still boiling and I gently placed the bowl on the counter.
Unbeknownst to me, one of the egg contained an embryo. According to my research what likely happened is that the pressure inside that particular egg was so strong the mere vibrations of putting the bowl on the counter caused the explosion.

And explosion is the right word! I don’t recall much except for the very loud “Bang” and feeling the heat of the boiling water on my left hand. I screamed and headed to the nearby bathroom while quickly taking my tshirt off my body. I ran the cold water while my daughter comforted me and checked out the kitchen.

There was egg particles EVERYWHERE. We determined that the egg was fertilized by examining some of the larger pieces of shell splattered all over the floor. It didn’t end there; later on my oldest daughter who rushed over to take me to the hospital noticed the splatters all over the cupboards AND the ceiling. That was one powerful explosion!

Fortunately, I only suffered first degree burns and I learned that keeping any type of burn covered and protected from the air is necessary to fight infection. My left hand was bandaged for one week, and now my skin is renewing itself (enough said).

In doing my research for this blog entry, I discovered a few very interesting facts.
The three most common microwave related burns are as follow:

1 – WATER BURNS
Superheating is what happens when water is heated past its boiling point, yet doesn’t form the bubbles we associate with boiling. When the superheated water is disturbed, as by bumping the container, stirring the water or adding something to it, the water may suddenly boil or vaporize into burning steam. One way to avoid this is by placing a non-metallic item such as a wooden spoon in the water.

2 – MOUTH BURNS caused by very hot substances such as cheese/sauce. Pizza seems to be the number one source of mouth burns caused by microwaved foods.

3 – EXPLODING EGGS
To hard boil eggs in the microwave, most cookbooks recommend the eggs shells be pricked (to allow pressure to escape) and completely covered in water.

This incident hasn’t diminished my yearning for eggs however I will stick to the old fashion stove top method from now on.
Cheers
Sylvie